Self-Care or Escapism

Inspired by the Friend Zone podcast, today’s blog post is about the topic of Self Care vs. Escapism. Is it really self-care when we decide to binge watch TV Shows on Netflix or Hulu or are we just avoiding the real world?

What is even the different between Self-Care and Escapism? How do you know if you’ve turned your self-care into escapism?

For me, self-care are things I do in order to take care of myself: getting my hair done, getting my nails or eyebrows done, shopping, reading a book, going for a brisk walk or to the gym, removing myself from negative energy.

For me, escapism is when I go to sleep and decide to avoid the problem and not get it done.

But if I do self-care activities and begin to avoid any problems/responsibilities that I have. Has it then turned into escapism?

Three questions to ask to decide which you’re engaged in:

What proportion of your time do you spend in goal-oriented activities versus the self-nurturing (or escapist) activity?

Do you often feel a compulsion (or a strong pull) toward the escapist activity?

How do you feel when you have completed the escapist or self care activity?

Self-care is very important for everyone. We are all dealing with difficult things, jobs, family, relationship, etc. Being selfish for a day or a couple of hours is okay and important for your soul.